[a. Du. etsen, a. Ger. ätzen to etch:—MHG. etzen, atzen:—OHG. ezjan, azjan to cause to eat or to be eaten = Goth *atjan (in fraatjan to distribute for food):—OTeut. *atjan, causative of *etan to EAT.]
1. trans. To engrave (metals, sometimes glass, stone) by ‘eating away’ the surface with acids or other corrosives; chiefly, to engrave by this process (a copper or other metal plate) for the purpose of printing from it. Hence, to produce (figures), copy or reproduce (pictures, drawings, etc.), represent or portray (subjects) by this method.
In etching plates to be printed from, the metal is covered with a protective varnish called the ground, and the lines of the design are drawn through this substance with an ‘etching-needle’; the acid is then poured over the ground, and acts on the plate only where its surface has been exposed by the needle. The vb. is also used of the production of designs on polished metal, esp. steel, by means of acids, the designs ‘etched’ appearing dead or clouded; also of the similar ornamentation of glass, the agent in this case being fluorine.
1634. J. B[ate], Myst. Nat. & Art, 140. Thereupon must be pounced, drawne, or traced, the thing that you are to etch.
1662. Evelyn, Chalcogr., 72. The incomparable Landskips set forth by Paul Brill (some of which have been Etched in Aqua fortis by Nieulant).
a. 1691. Boyle, Wks. (1772), III. 459. I have very seldom seen lovelier cuts … than I have seen made on plates etched, some by a French and others by an English artificer.
1781. W. Gilpin, in Mrs. Delany’s Corr., Ser. II. III. 38. A nephew of mine … thinks he has skill enough in his art to etch ye drawings in aqua tinta.
1799. G. Smith, Laborat., I. 231. To etch 100 or more Knife-blades at once.
1854. J. Scoffern, in Orr’s Circ. Sc., Chem. 370. The piece of glass to be etched.
1857. Mrs. Jameson, Sacr. & Leg. Art (ed. 3), Pref. All the Illustrations, which were formerly etched on copper, have been newly etched on steel.
b. transf. and fig.
1768. Sterne, Sent. Journ., Captive. With a rusty nail he was etching [upon a stick] another day of misery.
1851. Longf., Gold. Leg., I. Crt.-yard of Castle. The swift and mantling river … Etched with the shadows of its sombre margent.
1863. Hawthorne, Old Home, Lond. Suburb (1879), 244. Hours of Sabbath quietude, with a calm variety of incident softly etched upon their tranquil lapse.
1870. Lowell, Study Wind., 54. The shadows … of the bare boughs etched with a touch beyond Rembrandt.
2. absol. and intr. To practise the art of etching.
1634. J. B[ate], Myst. Nat. & Art, 134. It is impossible for one ever to Grave or Etch well, except he can draw well with the pen. Ibid., 140. The Plate you are to etch upon, must … be … ouerlaid … with a ground made for the purpose.
1662. W. Faithorne (title), The Art of Graveing and etching.
1768. W. Gilpin, Ess. Prints (ed. 2), 150. He [Swanevelt] etched in the manner of Waterlo; but with less freedom.
1807. T. Thomson, Chem. (ed. 3), II. 199. The property which this acid has of corroding glass, has induced several ingenious men to attempt, by means of it, to … etch upon glass.
1854. J. Scoffern, in Orr’s Circ. Sc., Chem. 370. The operation of etching upon glass.
3. To corrode. To etch out: to eat out (by an acid, etc.).
1664. Power, Exp. Philos., II. 90. The cylinder of Quicksilver will seem cragged and itch’d [in Errata etch’d], and never purely smooth and polished.
1875. J. W. Dawson, Dawn of Life, 101. By acting on the surface with a dilute acid we etch out the calcareous part.
4. Comb., etch-water, the acid used in etching.
1799. G. Smith, Laborat., I. 230. To prepare the etch-water.
Hence Etched ppl. a.
1847. (title) Sixty Etched Reminiscences of the Models in the University Galleries, Oxford, by Sir F. Chantrey.
1877. Kate Thompson, Handbk. Picture Gall. His etched works, which are so numerous and well-known.
